Vacation in the “Wild” West - Arizona

by Hidden Trails 03/07/2007

Dragoon Mountains Grapevine Canyon Ranch Getaway

How many people wish to escape routine, stress and obligations? The seaside is where most people will escape to. But, once arrived there, they share the beaches, cell phone chats, family dramas, and after the first sunburn they spend the rest of their stay frustrated in a hotel room. An alternative option to recover, physically and mentally, would be a stay at a dude ranch, where time seems to come to a standstill, where silence is interrupted only by the sound of animals, but where a day has to offer a lot.

One of the most beautiful ranches in the USA is in the Dragoon Mountains, Arizona. Coming to this county it is as if time had stopped. Before one takes the dirty roads towards the secluded ranch one passes a small place with a few houses, a bar and a grocery store. There are no street lights and arriving at night can be an adventure. The place radiates a comforting tranquility. At the ranch, the main guest house offers a living room with a large fire place where guests can read, chat or sometimes listen to live country music. Meals are served out of tinplate dishes in the annexed dining room, consisting of three wooden tables with benches, where the day’s news is exchanged among guests, the rancher’s family, wranglers and cowboys.

The guest cabins are scattered around the main compound of the ranch at an appropriate distance from each other. Those who prefer to retreat to the cabin may borrow books from the library. Cabins are not equipped with any communication such as TV, radio, phone or internet. The only entertaining sounds come from nature. At night there are coyotes that bark and howl and underneath the cabin’s wooden floor or in the roof one hears the rustling of mice and chipmunks that enjoy the warmth that has been stored during the day. In the morning, the horses are neighing for their hay and birds are welcoming the day with loud chirping. At noon, when sitting in the rocking chair at the cabin’s porch, the guest is surrounded by absolute silence, sometimes interrupted by the humming of the insects.

Those who like some excitement may choose a morning or afternoon ride on western trained horses. There are also all day rides to Chiricahua National Monument with spectacular rock formations and a challenging trail climbing to approx. 2500 meters. Another trail goes to the Stronghold Divide, a very scenic ride through Stronghold Canyon, the hideout of Cochise and his Apache braves. The spirit of the Native Americans is still alive. An interesting place to visit is the Middlemarch Canyon, and old mining ghost town, site of the original Cobra Loma copper mine. And when tired of riding, the guest can, easily, visit by car the famous old town of Tombstone with its legendary Wyatt Earp or pay a visit to Mexico.

The Ranch in the Dragoon Mountains compared to other dude ranches keeps its promise to benefit of a satisfactory vacation. Whatever one decides to do during the day, there is no boredom, no disappointment. Most of the people who have been there once, will return to this exceptional place.

Eva H. from Switzerland

Call Hidden Trails at  1-888-9-TRAILS
or see the website at:  http://hiddentrails.com/pub/tour.aspx?id=az_grapevine_canyon&tourtype=GuestRanch


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